Flight of the Robin
by BlazecloudTheWarrior
Summary: Torn away from her family and forced to survive alone, a small wildcat spends her days roaming a tense and dangerous forest. But when WindClan cats come into contact with her, she finds herself involved in a prophecy that could decide the future of all four Clans.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue Part One:**_ 'Flight of the Robin'

 _ **~Leaftail's Point of View~**_

"I have to go on this journey, Graystar. I can't ignore StarClan's messages especially when it's something that could be critical to the future of not just WindClan, but ThunderClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan as well." I plead with the gray and white tabby tomcat, my fur bristling as I recall the dream that I had just experienced.

Graystar narrows his dull green eyes, his ancient age showing with each movement as he roams around his bramble den. I was afraid that he was going to lose another of his nine lives to his age soon… There wasn't anything I could do about it.

"You want to travel from the Lake to the Sundrown Place in the beginning of new-leaf because of one little dream of a badger that hasn't been seen in almost a hundred seasons? On top of that, you're telling me this only moments after you went through this dream? Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" He probes, obviously not believing much of what I said.

"I can tell the difference between a normal dream and an omen. I didn't become a Medicine Cat for nothing." I counter, impatient.

"Could you at least explain the dream to me in more detail?" The shaggy tom murmers.

I take a breath. "I was in a forest that I couldn't recognize. It was colder than it is here and it was at night, and most of the trees where taller than in ThunderClan territory. There wasn't a single living thing.. Not even birds, or squirrels, or mice, or anything.. So I wandered around for a few minutes until I came across a large pool of water that reflected moonlight like the Moonpool."

"Continue." He commands when I pause.

"I watched my reflection in the pool, then suddenly someone pushed me into it. When I recovered and got to the surface, I saw a calico she-cat standing on the shore with glowing red eyes that had pushed me in. Then she fades away into nothingness and gets replaced by a huge badger who watched me for a few heartbeats, then she said, 'The maple leaf can be blown away by the beating wings of a robin.'…" I stop there, running out of air.

I stand still as he processes my depiction of the dream, alarmed by his lengthened silence. I finally speak up. "Only Midnight can speak cat. I think I should go to her home."

"Why do you think that?" He asks.

"If I don't, then I might be dooming the Clans to something horrible… I really don't want to risk that." I try my best to justify it. "At least it won't be that cold.. And there won't be much snow."

"I'll allow it. But _only_ because I trust your judgement." He concludes, slowly nodding. "Just pray that you're right. Don't break that trust."

"Thank you! I won't let you down." I smile gratefully, turning to exit his den.

"One more thing!" He calls to me as I stood just outside. "Take your brother with you."

"I shall. We'll leave just before dawn." I nod.

I step into the clearing, ignoring the mud that started to stain my fur as rain poured down in the middle of the camp. My Clanmates were all huddled in their dens as it was the middle of the night and it was far too cold and damp to be outside. Even the guards were called off because I advised that they would get sick in this weather.

 _We should make dens for the guards.._ I mentally noted that so that I could suggest it to Rainfeather before my journey.

I cross the clearing and make my way into the Warriors den, searching for the cat that Graystar had chosen to accompany me. I spot him in one of the many nests and make my way towards him, trying my best to not disturb any of the Warriors sleeping in their nests.

The ginger and black tom groans as I prod his shoulder with one of my forepaws, trying to wake him. "Go away, I'm not on guard duty." He mumbles.

"This is a bit more important than guard duty, Orioleflight. We're going to the Sundrown Place." I whisper to him. He opens his eyes and looks up at me, surprised.

"The Sundrown Place?"

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 _ **Allegiance:**_ 'WindClan'

 **WindClan Leader** :

Graystar, old long-furred gray and white tabby tomcat with white whiskers. Bright green eyes.

 **WindClan Deputy** :

Rainfeather, short-furred blue-gray she-cat with brown stripes down her sides. Amber eyes.

 **WindClan Medicine Cat** :

Leaftail, short-furred light brown she-cat with white paws and tail. Amber eyes.

 **WindClan Warriors** :

Orioleflight, short-furred orange and brown tomcat with half black half orange face. Sky blue eyes.

Oliveleaf, short-furred calico she-cat. Unusual blue and green eyes (Mentor to Houndpaw).

Rabbithop, short-furred dusty gray she-cat with a short tail. Amber eyes (Mentor to Stormpaw).

Henwhisker, long-furred wiry brown she-cat with white forepaws. Yellow eyes (Mentor to Puddlepaw).

Chestnutfoot, long-furred light brown tabby tomcat. Amber eyes.

Horsepelt, short-furred slim russet tomcat with a darker back. Green eyes.

Buzzardeye, long-furred white she-cat. Piercing yellow eyes (Mentor to Shiverpaw).

Chivefeather, short-furred light gray tomcat with darker splotches. Pale blue eyes.

Petaltail, short-furred dusky brown she-cat and light brown tail tip. Green eyes.

Hickorysong, short-furred brown dappled tabby she-cat. Hazel eyes.

Frostwhisper, long-furred white and silver tabby tomcat. Dark blue eyes.

Wolfstorm, long-furred dark brown and black tabby tomcat. Dark brown eyes.

 **WindClan Apprentices:**

Puddlepaw, long-furred brown tomcat with a white underbelly and paws. Amber eyes.

Stormpaw, short-furred gray and white tabby tomcat. Amber eyes.

Houndpaw, short-furred black and white patched she-cat. Copper eyes.

Shiverpaw, short-furred grey and white speckled she-cat with dark paws. Turqoise eyes.

 **WindClan Queens:**

Redspirit, short-furred tall red she-cat with darker paws. Amber eyes (Mother to Ashkit and Ravenkit. Pale gray and tuxedo black tomcats with identical brown eyes).

 **WindClan Elders:**

Badgerheart, long-furred black tabby tom with a lean build. Dark amber eyes (Oldest Warrior in the Clan).

Speckleblaze, short-furred gray and black mottled she-cat. Green eyes.

 _ **Cats Outside the Clans**_ **:**

Robin, short-furred tan she-cat with brown spots and a cream underbelly. Rusty Spotted Cat. Brown eyes.

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 _ **Prologue Part Two:**_ 'Flight of the Robin'

 _ **~Robin's Point of View~**_

"You're lucky that many animals here respect you, otherwise you would've been crowfood a long time ago." The tod growls, creeping around me in a circle as I confronted him for raiding a beaver dam. He had killed a pair of infant beavers for food.

 _Stupid fox! Doesn't he realize those beavers will go after him?_

"For your own sake, you should get out of the forest for a while. Those beavers are mad and they won't stop until they hunt you down." I murmer, undetered by his huge size compared to my own.

You see, I am what's called a Rusty Spotted Cat. We were the smallest of the various species of cat, and often no bigger than a rabbit. I was the only example of my kind in the forest and I was often made fun of and underestimated because of it. I couldn't even hunt prey larger than a mouse or a vole due to my size.

"They couldn't catch a turtle if they wanted to!" He jeers, shouting upstream of the creek that we were on the shore of; towards the small beaver dam that he had escaped from. "They got lucky that I couldn't take my catch with me!"

I roll my eyes. "If you think they're so slow, then why don't you go back there and make fun of them for it?"

"Maybe I will." He scoffs then trots off, looking over his shoulder. "Bye, midget!"

 _Bye, moron._ I smirk as he disappears unto the undergrowth. _He's going to regret that._ I let out an exasperated groan and start off down the shore, listening to the young tod as he stumbles through brambles and other messy foilage.

I always liked how my paws created tracks in the mud. I could often confuse other predators that I was a rabbit and I could scare them. That is, if they didn't try to kill me first… I learned my lesson after I did that to a bobcat who ended up taking a chunk out of my shoulder.

I prick my ears when I hear a loud shriek, signalling to me that the fox already encountered the beavers.

"Get away from me, vermin!" I hear his fear stricken voice as he gets jumped by them, completely unprepared for their attack.

 _Every time…_

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I stare down at the pool, unamused by my bored expressions and my bland brown eyes. I wasn't sure how I got here, but at the moment I didn't care.

"Robin." I spin around when I voice whispers my name near my ear.

My mother stood before me, her eyes no longer dull and lifeless from when I last saw her. I got separated from my family after humans captured us… We were all starved to death and I was the only one that was able to escape. I knew my father had died, but I did not know if my mother and my siblings had died too.

"Mom?" I gape, unsure of how to react to her appearance. She didn't look frail and bony anymore.. She looked well fed and healthy. Her brown eyes shown in the moonlight. "You're alive?"

"I cannot answer that. I am only here with a warning." She murmers to me, her voice soft and motherly. "When the maple leaf falls, you must fly."

"What is that supposed to mean? I don't have wings." I echo, confused. But as I replied, her form was already starting to fade.

"We love you. Never forget us…" She purrs, her eyes glowing as her body disappears.

"Wait! Where are you? I want to find you!" I shout, losing my cool and standing on end. But she was gone.

Then, everything when dark.

 _What the-_ I woke up in my nest, my fur sticking out in every place and with a painful headache. I was back in my hollowed out den, keeping out of the rainfall.

 _I'm all alone now… Aren't I?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two:**_ 'Flight of the Robin'

"She's waking up. Thank StarClan!" A voice whispered around her as she was interrupted from her deep sleep. She felt so cold… It was as if she had spent several seasons frozen in ice. She could barely feel her paws as she laid in a curled up position, refusing to open her eyes. A barbed tongue lapped at her ears and shoulders, trying to warm her up.

"Come on, little one. Wake up." The same voice prompted her, refusing to let up. With a start, Robinpaw opened her eyes and sat up, alarmed now that she was fully awake.

"Relax, kit." A second voice appeared alongside the first one. "How long have you been here?"

Robinpaw opened her eyes, immediately narrowing them when bright light hit her face. The morning sunlight gave her a blinding welcome, which was in contrast to the many cloudy days that occurred in new-leaf. It was something she hadn't experienced in quite a while. She rubbed her eyes with one of her forelegs. Standing over here were two cats: an orange and black splashed tomcat, and a brown she-cat with white paws. They weren't like any other cats she had seen in the first before; these cats were much bigger than her and much more muscled. They didn't have the tan fur and brown spots that she had, obviously.

Robinpaw inspected them curiously. "Who are you?"

"My name is Leaftail. I'm the Medicine Cat of a group of cats called WindClan." The brown she-cat dipped her head as a sign of respect.

The tom, meanwhile, shuffled his paws; apparently more nervous than his companion. "I'm Orioleflight."

"Strange names…" Robin observed, still on edge.

"Were you out here during the storm?" Leaftail gestured towards the many standing pools of water on the forest floor with her tail. "You're far too small to be out here for long."

Robin sighed. "I'm not a she-kit. I'm just small."

"Oh. I'm sorry for assuming that…" The Medicine Cat apologized, bowing lower.

"It's fine. I get it from everywhere." Robin smiled, standing up on all four paws and giving herself a rough shake to get rid of the morning dew. "I sleep in the rain sometimes because it's soothing."

"We should get going, Leaftail." Orioleflight mewed, acting as if he was in a hurry. "Our Clan is without a Medicine Cat, so we shouldn't leave them vulnerable.

"Agreed" Leafltail nodded to him. She turned her attention back to Robin. "Sorry for bothering you. We'll leave before we scare all the prey away."

Robin thought fast, taking a step towards them. "Speaking of prey, would you like some? I have plenty and I have no one else to share it with." _Not true._ She thought to herself, selfishly. They were interesting to her. It definitely seemed like their lives were a lot more important than her's was. All Robin could do was sit around and dose off, or strike up conversations with the foxes, badgers, deer, and other creatures in the forest.

"We really don't want to pester you with such a burden-"

"It's fine, really. It's not every day that I get to talk to cats as friendly as you." She insisted.

Leaftail cast another glance at Orioleflight. "What do you think?"

"Prey is prey, no matter how it comes to us." He pointed out.

Leaftail let out a sigh and then started to purr. "We accept your offer."

"Great!" Robin purred in unison to the older she-cat. "My name is Robin. My den is on the other side of the forest. You may not fit inside of it though… So we can go to the pool nearby." Enthusiastic, she immediately started off in the direction of her den, flicking her tail at them as a signal to follow. They both exchanged hesitant looks with eachother, then followed after her as she picked her way through the dense ferns.

Much to her dismay, however, they couldn't really follow her through the undergrowth much. She swore that they were intolerant of the touch of ferns or any plant in general. In the end she chose to lead them along one of the many game paths in the forest that led to the hollowed out oak tree that she lived in. Considering she was roughly the size of a rabbit, it was a perfect home for the naturally nocturnal Rusty Spotted Cat who prefered to live in the darkest places possible.

"You live in _there_?" Orioleflight exclaimed, sniffing at the clawed out entrance at the base of the trunk.

"Small cat, small den." Robin nodded. "I wonder how your kind lives in forests with only bushes to keep you dry?"

"We don't live in a forest, actually." The ginger and black tom replied, his tone low. "WindClan cats are moor dwellers."

"WindClan? Moors? I guess that makes sense." Robin grunted, squeezing into the den and padding over to a big dip in the dirt floor. It was filled with small prey such as voles, mice, and shrews. Prey bigger than that were much too big for her to catch let alone eat correctly.

"I suppose other cat species aren't as hostile as those mountain lions we escaped from…" Leaftail yawned, curling her tail around her paws.

Robin scoffed and dragged a few mice out of the den. "Mountain lions are nothing but blood-lust. They aren't very friendly at all."

"What about you? Your ears are rounder and your legs are shorter than ours." Orioleflight observed, noting her build.

"Well… We're usually loners that hunt small game at night. We have to be friendly otherwise we would be meals to larger predators. Lucky for me I can get along with others well and smooth their tempers over." Robin pushed the mice towards them. "Help me carry these to the pool, then we can talk more."

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 _She's being way too friendly to us. Something is up._ Leaftail decided to keep her suspicions to herself. She could tell that Orioleflight was thinking the same thing by the look in his pale blue eyes. This cat had only just met them, and now she was giving them prey and happily socializing with them like any Clanmate would.

Robin kept quiet as she led them through the forest. Everyone had mice in their jaws, so it made sense that the small tan and brown she-cat wouldn't speak with them at this very moment. Robin was definitely different from the typical loner, kittypet, or rogue that the two WindClan cats had come across in their travels. She was half the size of a normal cat; to the point where she could be mistaken for a kit or a small Apprentice.

Suddenly Robin stopped in her tracks and spat the mice out of her mouth. "I can smell you! Come out!"

As if on queue, a large figure crept out of the nearby bushes, hackles raised. A feeling of pure dread washed over Leaftail as she realized what she was looking at.

 _A vixen!_

Both Orioleflight and Leaftail let go of their prey and drop into a defensive stance, unsheathing their claws. But Robin stepped in front of them with an unusually calm attitude.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Stop creeping around and stalking me!" Robin growled. The vixen barked loudly, glaring at the little feline.

"I don't care if there are rabbits around here." She seemed to argue with the vixen. "And these two are with me. You know the bigger predators protect me and anyone under my watch, so go away."

 _She can understand it?_ Leaftail blinked, watching the argument with a shocked expression. The vixen let out a low yip then gave the trio one last hiss. Then, it turned and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Robin frowned. "She's never going to learn. I have to tell her off every time I'm with guests."

"Am I dreaming? Did that really just happen?" Orioleflight shook his head, trying to get rid of a fog that wasn't there.

"What? You don't have foxes where you live?" Robin tipped her head to the side. "Nevermind… Let's just get to the pool before anyone else comes here looking for a free snack."

Leaftail's tail twiched, betraying her shock. "You can understand other animals?"

"Yeah. It's something I was taught and it's the reason as to why I'm the 'Translator' of the forest. I can override language barriers." Robin meowed tartly.

 _This cat is strange… I wonder who taught her that._

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"Ah! Here we are." Robin purred, setting her mice down on a rock standing at the edge of the large pool of water.

"Why are we here, exactly?" Orioleflight asked, casting weary glances to every side of the pool.

"Because." Robin took a breath. "This is the place where all of the animals get a drink and socialize. There won't be anyone here today because of the storm, so it'll be safe."

"Thank you for the prey." Leaftail murmers, keeping her ears pricked as she took a bite out of a mouse.

Robin shrugged. "You're welcome. But could you tell me more about your home?"

"There are four Clans: ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan." Leaftail began, settling down. She then spoke of a lake that the Clans lived around, and of their complex code. It was quite interesting, really.

"It sounds honorable." Robin pointed out.

"It isn't. The Clans fight all the time, and-" She paused, clearly reluctant to continue. "Orioleflight and I… We were sent to the sea by our Warrior ancestors, StarClan. Or at least that's what we thought."

"StarClan? You can speak to dead cats?" Robin widened her eyes, doubting such a claim.

"Indeed. That is one of my skills, actually." The brown and white she-cat explained. "As a Medicine Cat, I read the signs sent to me by StarClan, and I can speak with them in dreams. I am pretty much StarClan's voice to my Clan."

"As for me, I am a Warrior." Orioleflight added, swallowing some of shrew he was feasting on. "Warriors defend and fight for their Clan. They hunt for it, too. In the end, it's worth it because you become respected and well known amongst the Clans as a whole. You could even become a Deputy or a Clan Leader if you were lucky enough."

"Okay… Why do you go so far based on the word of shimmery dead cats?" Robin tipped her head to the side.

"In the past, word from our ancestors has prevented many cats from dieing, and has even saved the Clans entirely on several occasions. When they say something, it's usually important." Leaftail sat up, her meal finished. "Ignoring them can cost cats their lives."

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"Excuse us, Robin. But it's time we left." Leaftail put a paw on Robin's shoulder as she looked up at the bright sun. "We have a long journey ahead of us, and we'd like to take advantage of this weather to get some distance closer to home."

Robin looked at her, putting a serious face on. "I've been thinking… All I do here is eat, sleep, and run errands for animals who would much rather eat me. What if I want to be something more?"

"Many cats at the lake would evny such a simple life." The WindClan Medicine Cat murmered, her voice soft.

"I don't want an easy life." Robin muttered. "I want to be like you… Hunting, and fighting, and healing, and having tradition and honor."

Leaftail wrapped her tail around her, pulling her closer. "You could go with us."

Orioleflight shook his head. "It's a long way to the Lake, Leaftail. I doubt she'll be able to handle the journey."

"I'm stronger than I look." Robinpaw glared at him.

"I don't see why she can't go with us, if that's the case." Leaftail pointed out, looking down at the brown spotted cat. "It may not be what you expect. And we won't be able to return to your home once we leave. So if you're coming with us, there is little chance you'll be able to come back here."

"I'd like to join you. If you'll have me?" Robin perked up, her voice hopeful. _Maybe I'll be appreciated more there._ She secretly thought.

Orioleflight and Leaftail both sigh. "Yes. But don't say we didn't warn you."

 _Yes!_


End file.
